Process of producing impact-resisting railroad rails



Feb. 4, 1930. s I. MILLER 1,745,806

PROCESS OF PRODUCING IMPACT RESISTING RAILROAD RAILS- Filed Nov. 1928 MW INVENTORI ATTORNEYS.

Patented Feb. 4, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SAMUEL W. MILLER, OF HOLLIS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE OXWELD RAILROAD SERVICE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE PROCESS OF PRODUCING IMPACT-RESISTING RAILROAD RAILS Application filed November This invention relates to a process of producing railroad rails having impact resistin ends.

ailroad rails usually wear faster at the ends than at intermediate points and, consequently, must be replaced when all but the ends are in condition to give satisfactory service over a long period of time. The cause of this rapid wear at the ends is the hammering or impact of the car wheels as they pass over the small spaces between the rail ends. This wear does not occur at a uniform rate but at a rapidly increasing rate. Consequently, after rail ends become slightly worn their further deterioration is very rapid and they must be replaced, at heavy expense, long before it would be necessary if they wore at a uniform rate throughout. As rails deteriorate rapidly after the ends become slightly worn, it follows that this first slight wear determines the life of a rail.

Furthermore, when rails are hard enough to withstand the hammering of the car wheels as they pass over the rail joints, the rails carry, and whenthey are soft enough so they do not break under load they wear rapidly at the ends and require frequent replacement. i

Therefore, one of the objects of this invention is to provide a process of producing a railroad rail that will not break under load and at the same time will withstand the'impact or hammering of the car wheels as they pass over the rail joints so that the time required to produce the first slight wear that determines the life of the rail will be greatly increased. Other aims, objects, and novel features will be apparent from the drawing and the following description.

Fig. 1 of the drawing is a longitudinal section of the end of-a railroad rail produced by the process described herein, showing the position of the metal especially resistant to wear and impact, and;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken through the port-ion of the rail shown in Fig. 1.

The rail shown and described herein may be -produced by the process of taking a frequently break under the loads theymust 6, 1928. Serial No. 317,606.

standard railroad rail that is soft enough to carry the weight of modern railroad trains without breaking, removing a portion of the top of the rail at each end, and then replacing the metal that was removed with one a more resistant to wear and impact. Such a rail is shown in the drawing and it may have a base 10, a head 11, and atread 12.

The first step of the process is that of removing a portion of each end of the rail where it is rapidly worn by the impact of the car Wheels as they pass from the end of one rail to that of the next. In removing these portions of the rail only a small amount of the surface or tread 12 may be removed or a portion of the head of the rail may be removed down to or below the rounded shoulder 13 according to the severity and character of the service for which the rail 7 is intended. Rails intended for use on 70 straight track may have only the tread 12 or surface removed, while those intended for use on curved track may have the upper portion of the head 11 removed down to a point 14 below the shoulder 13 so that when the more resistant metal is added it will prevent the wheel flanges from wearing the shoulder 13 of the rail as well as preventing the face of the wheels from wearing the tread 12 of the rail. The metal may be removed from the ends of the rail by any of the well known metal working methods such as millin shaping, planing, or by the use of an D oxy-acetlylene metal cutting blowpipe.

The second step of the process is that of replacing the metal that was removed fr'om the ends of the rail with one that is more resistant to wear and impact. The metal 15 added to the ends of the rail-may be an alloy of cobalt, chromium, and tungsten, such as Stellite, an alloy of iron that will air harden as it is deposited, or an alloy especially adapted to withstand shocks, stresses, and wear, such as that disclosed in Patent No. 1,544,422, issued J une'30, 1925, to F. M. Becket. The metal 15 may be deposited on the ends of the rail by either a gas or electric fusion welding process although I prefer the process of oxyacetylene welding. Enough metal should be deposited to build the rail up to a point some- 1 What aboveits original contour line so a smooth surface will be secured when the added metal is finished down to the original contour line of the rail.

The third step of the process is that of finishing the deposited metal down to the orig-' inal contour line of the rail. The surplus metal may be removed by any well known metal working process such as that of planing or milling although when metal such as Stellite is used, or one that air hardens, better results may be secured by removing the surplus metal with a grinding machine using an abrasive such as an emery wheel.

15 Rails constructed according to the process just described are stronger and at the same time deteriorate much more slowly than those in common use at the present time, so the peri- 0d necessary for them to wear to a oint where they must be replaced is much onger than with other rails, and the additional cost of producing) rails by this process is more than returned y the increased life of the rails.

Various changes may be made in the rails described herein and also in the process by which they are produced without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing 1 any of the rights thereunder. I

, I claim:

1. A method of increasing the life of netal railroad rails by removing the tread at each end of the rail and then replacing it with a metal deposit more resistant to impact. 1

2. A method of increasing the life of metal railroad rails by removing a portion of the rail head at each end of the rail and then replacing the metal that was removed with a metal deposit more resistant to impact.

3. A method of increasing the life of metal 40 railroad rails b removing a portion of the rail head at eac end of the rail; welding in its place a metal more resistant to wear and impact; and then finishi the replaced metal 1:0 the original contour o the rail. v In testimony whereof, I afiix my si atur e. 

